William the Conqueror in the Line of Kings

Description

The ties between the Tower of London and William the Conqueror may seem obvious to us, as it is widely known that the Tower was a Norman building project. However, for centuries it was believed that the Tower had Roman origins, predating the Norman invasion.

William was still deemed the principal King to start, or finish, the Line of Kings when it was established at the Tower. Through the early visitor accounts it is difficult to gauge the public’s reaction to an armoured figure representing William I, and there appear to be distinct discrepancies regarding whether visitors believed they were looking at the genuine armour of William I or not.

A Swedish visitor in 1788, Anna Johanna Grill, detailed her belief that the armour was a genuine Norman example. And a London guide from 1807 repeated this myth while suggesting this was just a tall story created by the Beefeater tour guides but believed by visitors to be fact. The armour used for William was a bright plain steel armour. After more than 150 years, this inaccuracy was finally corrected in 1827 by Dr Meyrick’s intervention, when he ‘ousted’ figures in armour representing William the Conqueror, Edward III, John of Gaunt and Henry V.

Further tall stories surrounded the other objects attributed to William I. It appears that the first display of the Line of Kings gave William a ‘Great sword’ and a large musket, ‘which is of such length and thickness that it is as much as a man can do to carry it on his shoulders’. The musket actually dated from the seventeenth century.

One of the Royal Armouries most famous objects, the horned helmet, was in the early displays in the Horse Armoury, reputed to have belonged to William the Conqueror’s jester. Interestingly this helmet was later attributed to Henry VIII’s jester, Will Somers. This helmet has been the subject of a lot of interest over the years, and after extensive research we now know it was made by Konrad Seusenhofer as part of a court armour for Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, who presented it to Henry VIII. Today it is displayed at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, of which it is a symbol.

William the Conqueror is represented in the present Line of Kings display by what is believed to be the wooden head from his figure, as well as the armour he wore until 1826.